. >> and do that by cutting taxes? with a big tax cut? >> those are yours, not mine. >> thank you very much, sir. >> yeah. that was strange. >> reporter: the obama campaign, also seeking to mock mitt romney for his pledge to eliminate funding for pbs, by portraying him in a tv ad, by personally going after big bird. the ad says, mitt romney taking on our enemies, no matter where they nest. george? >> we've not seen the end of that. jake, thank you very much. >>> diane sawyer and i will have live coverage of the next big debate. the v.p. candidates go at it this thursday, at 9:00 eastern, 6:00 pacific. >>> let's go to josh and the other top stories. >> good morning, all of you. we're going to begin with new information on the growing meningitis outbreak. a ninth death is being reported in tennessee. in all, 105 cases in the 9 states you see highlighted there, are being linked to contaminated steroid shots. as many as 13,000 people may be at-risk. the shots came from a massachusetts pharmacy that mixes medications. there's a growing push to